The five trucks carrying 80 head of cattle, which cow vigilantes had stopped just outside Barmer on Sunday night, were being taken for a flagship cattle breeding programme of the BJP, the Rajasthan police have said. The "Rashtriya Gokul Mission", which aims to preserve indigenous cattle breeds, is conducted by the Union Ministry of Agriculture. But without giving the transporters any chance to explain, the cow vigilantes roughed them up and tried to burn one of the trucks with cows inside. Had they succeeded, at least 10 cows and three calves would have died.
